Transformational Grammar

Most people have one of two reactions to that second word in the title. Either they yawn in anticipation of total boredom, or they sigh in abject defeat to an unbeatable foe. There’s a select group, sort of an inner circle of geeks, who’ll find a quiet spot, grab a beverage, and read slowly so as not to miss a word. We are the English nerds, often teachers, who own the decoder rings giving us special access to a world few enter and even fewer want to know. Think of it like having a lifetime pass for free dental work.

Remember diagramming sentences in grade school? The teacher would illustrate with a simple sentence: Jane threw a ball to Jimmy. No problem! You’d sit in your desk, redrawing the sentence, angling the ruler just so and carefully printing the words on the diagonals. Nodding pridefully, you’d check your neighbors to the left and right. Yep, they got it. You all sat a bit taller.

Then for practice, the teacher would scrawl this sentence on the board:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.

Panic, sweat, and terror. Your diagram resembled a spider web constructed by a drunken black widow. What happened to Jane and Jimmy and the ball? You’re suddenly Charlie Brown or Ralph Wiggum. There was some solace. When you looked around this time, no two diagrams looked the same, and everyone was sweating.

I was a speech major in college, which is only slightly more valuable than a philosophy degree. In order to earn my teaching certificate, I had to take twelve English courses, one of which was entitled Transformational Grammar. I signed up expecting a primer on the hidden and arcane rules governing sentences. What I learned blew the doors off my Chevette. Holy organization, Batman!

I won’t summarize or re-teach the content (you’re welcome). If you really want to know, HERE is a basic video. I’m guessing nobody (outside of teacher friends) will click on the link. That’s okay. Basically, TG starts with a simple sentence and then shows all the possible modifications to it. Why does it matter? Other than feeling grammatically superior to almost everyone and knowing the secret handshake to get into grammar conventions? I like to know how things work. I want to see the patterns and know the rules, like figuring out the unseen rules in a Twilight Zone episode.

The more you try to understand about commas and clauses, the more questions arise. I thought grammar was like that. Grammar rules always seemed random and unconnected. Worse, sometimes I wondered if they were just made up. It’s like The Office scene where they argue whoever vs. whomever. Priceless!

It’s like Ishmael from Moby-Dick. He wants to figure out what a whale is (and is not). He takes a deep dive into whale physiology and habits, examining whale history from multiple viewpoints. But more and more study of whaleness yields more ambiguity and frustration for our hero. After serious study (and many pages), Ishmael still can’t define a whale.

Here’s what that class on Transformational Grammar created in me: confidence. Once I internalized the rules, I could explain a grammar rule to students because I understood how the tree fit in the forest. Still true, I genuinely get excited about teaching grammar, like a kitten chasing a beam of light. (I know what you’re thinking–how much fun must this guy be at a party?) I also feel freer in my writing. I don’t worry about my grammar. I won’t even judge you for poor grammar in the comment section below.

Not perfect at all now, I still omit commas or fire up a run-on. But I get it now, I get how words/phrases/clauses fit together. I can play with various sentence structures. I can see when I repeat the same pattern over and over in my writing. And I’ve learned how and when to break the rules. Like using a fragment. (See what I did there?)

I also feel freer in my writing. I don’t worry about my grammar. I won’t even judge you for poor grammar in the comment section below.

It’s not just a clever poster: grammar saves lives! Don’t believe me? Just ask Timmy. And for homework, you will diagram these sentences.